Toy.



B. B. MARK.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-19.1916.

Patented May 14, 1918.

V v INVENTOR WIT ESSES ATTORNEY .ED STATES PATENT onion.

BERNARD B. MARK, or Jornni, mssoonr,

TOY.

Specification of Letters Patent. I Patented May 14:, 1918.

r Application filed Septe'mbcrw, 1916. Serial No. 121,054.

To all it may concern:

Be it known that I, BERNARD B. MARK, a

citizen of the United States, residing at. J opin toys and more particularly to toy balloons comprising a case of thin rubber which can be inflated to cause the case to be distended and take a predetermined shape. I

An object of my invention is to provide a toy of this type which has the case so constructed that as it is inflated, greater expansion will take place in some parts of the case than in'others and thus the balloon will take unexpected, and sometimes grotesque shape.

A. further object is to provide an opening through which the case may be inflated and to also arrange means by which the opening or passage will be closed when the proper inflation has been accomplished.

A still further object is to provide a structure which is so arranged that the device may be constructed to represent animal forms, reptiles, etc., and a projection or extension, which might be made to represent the tongue or some other portion of the anatomy of the animal, etc., which may be;

depicted, may be given movement through? a slight manual manipulation of the balloon.

With the above and other objects in view,

my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter set forth in connection with the drawings and then more particularly pointed out in the claims. In the drawings: I I

Figure l is a view in elevation showing the balloon constructed after the manner of my invention. 1 Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the disclosure in Fig 1.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

lhe case 1 is inthe present instance shown as representing the head and body of a reptile, and it will of course be understood that any form of animal life or other living thing might be depicted. To give the desired length to the body of the reptile, the case 1 is made long and tubular in shape, the form of the case being such that in the uninfiated or partly uninflated condition it is substain 4 tially straight in its line of longitudinal extent. f

It is preferable in the formation of the case to take the reptile form, that provision be made so that as the case in inflated it will take an undulating line to thus represent movement of the" reptile,

this result I form the case, as is better and to accomplish shown in Fig. 2, in such a way that the thickness of the side walls is. increased at certain predetermined points. In the illustration in the drawings, the thicknessis increased.

on the upper side as at 2, just back of that portion of the case which is to represent the head, the lower side is thickened at 3 rearwardly of the thickened portion 2, and then the upper and lower, and the upper side are thickened at other points as shown at 4, 5 and 6 at points set along the length of the body of the case. .iThe head is preferably drawn in at the mouth portion to be constricted as shown at 7, and a tube 8 is passed through this constricted portion to have its open end within the body of the case 1, this tube being preferably so disposed that the inner end thereof is adjacent the side wall of the case. The inner open end of the tube .8 has a flap valve 9 mounted to close thereover, and thus as air or other fluid is blown through the tube 8 into the case, this flap valve 9 will prevent the escape of the fluid. The strip 10 is secured to extend forwardly from the nose of the body and is slit at its end to represent the cloven tongue of a snake or like reptile.

As the toy is manufactured and sold, the case 1 will be deflated, and consequently the rubber sheet forming the same will not be stretched, in view of which the casewill take a substantially tube like form and will be substantially straight throughout its entire length and even including the head portion. As air or aseous fluid is blown into the case through the tube 8, the rubber forming the case will be caused to stretch, and due to the fact that the thinner parts of the case have greater elasticity, those parts of the case opposite to the thickened portions represented at 2, 3, 4., 5 and 6, will be puffed out whereas the case in the thickened portions thereof will hold against stretching and consequently the head of the reptile Wlll take shape, the throat will be pufied out in a natural formand adjacent to the thickened portions 3, 4:, 5 and .6, the case will stretch to one side and will consequently take a serpentine line.

so that by stroking that portion of the wall adjacent to or against which the inner end of the tube 8 is disposed, the strip 10 which is formed to represent the tongue of the reptile will be given movement.

From the foregoing. it will be seen that l haveprovided a toy balloon which embodies a structure adapted to permit the representation of practically any living thing in a shape somewhat closely resembling the natural form; that as the degree to which the case is inflated may be varied the movement of the same from the original form will be increased or decreased; and, that by arranging the tongue or other portion connected in conjunction with the tube to have a natural form, this part of the representation can be made to have movement in a very life like 'manner. It will of course be understood that the case might be painted or colored in any desired representation, that eyes, nostrils, etc, might be represented on the case, and that projections might even be molded or otherwiseiormed thereon at various points to indicate particular identifying characteristics of the living thing which is to be shown in representation.

While I have herein shown and described only one form of the device and have only mentioned other forms, it will of course be understood that I do not desire to be-limited to the exact disclosure, but rather only to such points s may be set forth in the claims.

I claim:

1. A to balloon having a case of stretchable elastic material formed to have greater capacity for stretching in some portions than in others as the case is inflated to thus cause the shape taken by the case to be varied upon inflation. s

2. A toy balloon comprising a case of stretchable elastic material formed to have greater thickness in some portions than in others and to consequently have the capacity for stretching in various portions varied.

3. A toy balloon comprising a case of stretchable elastic material having portions thereof constructed to have lesser capacity for stretching than other portions so that the torm'of the case'will be varied as the same neeeaee is inflated, and a tube through which fluid is supplied to inflate the case.

4. A. toy balloon comprising a case oi stretchable elastic material having portions thereof constructed to have lesser capacity for stretching than other portions so that the form of the case will be varied as the same is inflated, a tube through which the fluid is supplied to inflate the case, and a valve at the inner end of the tube to close the dsame against the escape of the inflating flui 5. A toy balloon comprising a case of stretchable rubber having portions thereof made of greater thickness than other portions to thus vary the stretching qualities of the material in various parts of the case and to consequently cause distortion of the shape ner end of the same through the oasethis member will have movement imparted thereto.

7 A toy balloon comprising a, case which is to be inflated to take a predetermined form, said case being of an elastic material and made thicker in portions to vary the elasticity throughout its entirety and to thus cause inflation to stretch the case to take the desired form, a tube extended into said case to have its inner end adjacent the side wall Bil) thereof and with the outer end passed' through the case in a relation that fluid may be passed therethrough to inflate the case, a

.valve to prevent the escape of fluid through BERNARD B. MARK.

-Witnesses lint LEAMING, NORMA BALDWIN. 

